This makes me more excited than just about anything else. it is kinda the final piece in the puzzle of us making the transition to bring our great game of Rugby League to Victoria.The one thing missing from the Storm is a real pathway for Victorians to play. And while we have had enormous success as a team; has this actually increased the number of junior teams in Victoria. If we are going to take the best athletes away from AFL, we need to make it as easy as possible. I mean, look at the Greater Western Sydney, I was up in Sydney for the first time in a while and I mean the heartland, not the harbour bridge and I can't believe how many AFL goal posts have been put up all over the place in Sydney. I could not believe it. is it still a Rugby League city? It looks like an AFL city now.

While the Melbourne Storm has had amazing success on the field has it translated to off field numbers playing the game in Victoria? Like the Sydney Swans success has meant AFL is accepted in the schools in Sydney and is kind of cool for kids to play.

The AFL do it so well with Auskick and once you have got the mothers and the kindergarten kids in with cards etc, pretty soon the revolution has taken place as we have seen in Sydney. It is literally taking over Sydney.

We need to fight back here in Melbourne and turn the Melbourne Storms success into increased numbers of kids in Victoria playing the great game of Rugby League.

And then use those playing numbers and this pathway to grow the game in the great state of Victoria.

If we can't make it work in Victoria how are we going to make advances in South and Western Australia and Tasmania?

To all my many lovely friends at the Bai Stand and throughout the Melbourne Storm community; I wish you all a very Merry Christmas. Have a great day with you and yours and lets get ready for a huge 2018. Lets hope we have as much success as 2017. I love you all.

I reckon this is the greatest thing that has happened to our Melbourne Storm.

Sure we have won scores of premierships and had our players dominate State of Origin and the Australian team for a decade now.

But finally we are getting our kids into the top level emerging and pathway development teams away from our own coaching.

I look at this as a sign; we are now being taken seriously throughout the Code as the powerhouse that we should be recognised as.

For me; earlier there was a real negative bias to the kids we were creating by the so called NSW bourgeoisie. These capitalist class of our great game who own most of society's wealth and means of production.

We were treated like nomads who didn't matter. But slowly; and finally; the industry and the Rugby League "Fat Cats" have seen the light.